Self-productivity and complementarities in human development : evidence from MARS

This paper investigates the role of self-productivity and home resources in capability formation from infancy to adolescence. In addition, we study the complementarities between basic cognitive, motor and noncognitive abilities and social as well as academic achievement. Our data are taken from the Mannheim Study of Children at Risk (MARS), an epidemiological cohort study following the long-term outcome of early risk factors. Results indicate that initial risk conditions cumulate and that differences in basic abilities increase during development. Self-productivity rises in the developmental process and complementarities are evident. Noncognitive abilities promote cognitive abilities and social achievement. There is remarkable stability in the distribution of the economic and socio-emotional home resources during the early life cycle. This is presumably a major reason for the evolution of inequality in human development

The social dimension of globalization: A review of the literature

With globalization affecting so many inter-connected areas, it is difficult to grasp its full impact. This literature review of over 120 sources considers the impact of globalization on wages and taxes, poverty, inequality, insecurity, child labour, gender, and migration. Opening with some stylized facts concerning globalization in 1985-2002, the authors then highlight recent findings on these areas, reporting on controversies and on emerging consensus where it exists. There follows a review of national and international policy responses designed to make globalization more sustainable and equitable and to deliver decent jobs, security and a voice in decision-making

Alliances and treaties between Frankish and Muslim rulers in the Middle East : cross-cultural diplomacy in the period of the Crusades

Author's preface to the English translationPrefaceIntroductionI The development of the Syrian system of autonomous lordships (c.1070-1099)The system of autonomous lordships before the First Crusade (c.1070-1099)Frankish-Muslim alliances and treaties during the First Crusade (1097-99)II Relations between the Frankish, Turkish and Arab states in the period of the Syrian autonomous lordships (1098-1158)The territorial expansion of the Frankish lordships and their integration (1098-1112/13)The paradigm of the `counter-Crusade': The Syrian lordships and the advance of Turkish allied armies from the east (1098-1128)Syrian alliance politics from the expansion of the Zengid dominions to the Frankish-Byzantine rapprochement (1128-58)III Frankish-Muslim relations in the period of Nur al-Din and Saladin (1158-92)The expansion of the `no place' doctrine and Frankish policy towards Egypt and Byzantium (1158-74)Franks, Zengids and Nizaris: The Syrian lordships confronting the expansion of the Ayyubid dominions (1174-83)Between treaty policy and confrontation, subordination and jihad: Frankish-Ayyubid relations from the peak of the party disputes in Jerusalem to the end of Saladin's life (1184-93)A glance at Frankish-Muslim relations in the thirteenth centuryIV Instruments and implications of Frankish-Muslim legal relations in the Middle East during the twelfth and thirteenth centuriesTechnicalities and validity of Frankish-Muslim treaties in the twelfth and thirteenth centuriesThe formation and function of Muslim-Frankish condominia (munasafat) in the twelfth and thirteenth centuriesConclusionsBibliographyIndexMapsxv, 368 p. ; 24 c

Evidence-based guideline summary: Evaluation, diagnosis, and management of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

OBJECTIVE: To develop recommendations for the evaluation, diagnosis, prognostication, and treatment of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) from a systematic review and analysis of the evidence. METHODS: Relevant articles were analyzed in accordance with the American Academy of Neurology classification of evidence schemes for diagnostic, prognostic, and treatment studies. Recommendations were linked to the strength of the evidence and other factors. RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Available genetic testing for FSHD type 1 is highly sensitive and specific. Although respiratory insufficiency occurs rarely in FSHD, patients with severe FSHD should have routine pulmonary function testing. Routine cardiac screening is not necessary in patients with FSHD without cardiac symptoms. Symptomatic retinal vascular disease is very rare in FSHD. Exudative retinopathy, however, is potentially preventable, and patients with large deletions should be screened through dilated indirect ophthalmoscopy. The prevalence of clinically relevant hearing loss is not clear. In clinical practice, patients with childhood-onset FSHD may have significant hearing loss. Because undetected hearing loss may impair language development, screening through audiometry is recommended for such patients. Musculoskeletal pain is common in FSHD and treating physicians should routinely inquire about pain. There is at present no effective pharmacologic intervention in FSHD. Available studies suggest that scapular fixation is safe and effective. Surgical scapular fixation might be cautiously offered to selected patients. Aerobic exercise in FSHD appears to be safe and potentially beneficial. On the basis of the evidence, patients with FSHD might be encouraged to engage in low-intensity aerobic exercises

Complex regulation of somatic hypermutation by cis-acting sequences in the endogenous IgH gene in hybridoma cells

To create high-affinity antibodies, B cells target a high rate of somatic hypermutation (SHM) to the Ig variable-region genes that encode the antigen-binding site. This mutational process requires transcription and is triggered by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), which converts deoxycytidine to deoxyuridine. Mistargeting of AID to non-Ig genes is thought to result in the malignant transformation of B cells, but the mechanism responsible for targeting SHM to certain DNA regions and not to others is largely unknown. Cis-acting elements have been proposed to play a role in directing the hypermutation machinery, but the motifs required for targeting SHM have been difficult to identify because many of the candidate elements, such as promoters or enhancers, are also required for transcription of Ig genes. Here we describe a system in cultured hybridoma cells in which transcription of the endogenous heavy-chain Ig gene continues in the absence of the core intronic enhancer (Eμ) and its flanking matrix attachment regions (MARs). When AID is expressed in these cells, SHM occurred at the WT frequency even when Eμ and the MARs were absent together. Interestingly, SHM occurred at less than the WT frequency when Eμ or the MARs were individually absent. Our results suggest that these intronic regulatory elements can exert a complex influence on SHM that is separable from their role in regulating transcription